The present invention is directed to a probe activated valve system. Current probe activated valve systems are typically comprised of a valve sealing member, possibly with a ball or hemispherical end, which is pressed against a sealing element or against a metal seat. Alternatively a ball is pressed against the seal or seat by a spring or headed valve sealing member and spring arrangement. Another sealing element, contained by a separate insert, is used to prevent leakage on the outside of the probe when the valve is open. Alternate current designs for accessing fluid or gas, typically pressurized, include designs outlined in ISO 15171-1, ISO 15171-2 and other proprietary designs.
The purpose of these devices is to allow sampling to determine the physical and chemical elements of the fluid in a system. For example, these devices allow the determination of physical properties of fluid in a system such as temperature and pressure. Chemical properties such as viscosity and acidity can also be determined. For example, it may be important to know the amount of contaminant particulate within a system or be aware of wear metals in a system with moving parts such as an engine. Contaminant particulate is a leading cause of incomplete combustion, environmental air pollution, and premature failure in pressurized lubrication and cooling systems.
A problem with existing valve systems is that they may not provide an adequate seal. For example, a metal on metal seal formed by a ball valve cooperating with a valve seat can result in weepage if the ball or seat contain imperfections or are not perfectly spherical. Imperfections may be created during operation, such as brinelling caused by hydraulic spikes. Even if a proper seal initially exists, the ball can be rotated during probing with an imperfect seal arising following reseating of the ball. Even if the ball is spherical, contaminants from the system can accumulate on the ball and valve seat to impair the seal. External contaminants can also be introduced during the sampling process by insertion of the probe.
Other valves, such as a tire style valve have an elastomeric element to form a barrel seal. However, the structure of a tire style valve includes a pin which can be bent or deformed from high pressure in the system arising from, for example, a pressure spike. Other seals having an elastomeric element, such as a barrel style O-ring, can fail when there is high turbulence in the valve resulting in washing out or displacement of the sealing element. This washing out can also take place if the valve is used to fill or replace system fluids. Other elastomeric seal types require additional retaining members to securely capture the sealing element.
Furthermore, apart from a compromised seal, another problem associated with conventional probe activated valves is user safety in systems under high pressure. For example, systems using probe activated valves can be pressurized from 2000 to 10000 psi which may not be a desirable or safe level of pressure to which a hand probe user should be exposed. A hand inserted probe is limited by the finger or thumb strength of the user which in the present invention is in the range of 500 to 1500 psi. However, due to the surface area and geometry of a conventional valve sealing member, such as a ball in a ball valve, the pressure required to open a valve can be significantly less than the pressure of the system, thereby exposing a user to an unexpected and potentially injurious hazard.